Caring for the marine environment through ocean awareness, advocacy, and citizen action.

Annual Coastal Cleanup Day

Thank you to our Site Captains, Sanctuary Stewards, volunteers, and Supporters for making Annual Coastal Cleanup Day in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties such a huge success!

On September 17, 2011, over 4,500 volunteers gathered at over 81 cleanup sites from Wadell Creek in the north to the Big Sur coast in the south to prevent over 17,000 pounds of pollution from 157 miles of beaches, rivers, lakes, creek, and sloughs.

Here are the 2011 results of this incredible community effort:

Do you love clean beaches ALL year long?
Text "SOS" to # 20222 to DONATE $5!

International Coastal Cleanup Day is the single largest volunteer event on the planet. Volunteers in over 100 countries around the world work together to remove hundreds of thousands of pounds of trash and recyclables from our beaches, lakes, and waterways before it enters our oceans. In 2011, over 4,580 Save Our Shores volunteers removed over 17,000 lbs. of trash and recyclables from beaches and waterways within Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties in just 3 hours. In California, over63,000 volunteers banded together to cleanup over 590,000 lbs. of trash and recyclables (results via www.coastal.ca.gov).

We encourage all of our volunteers to Bring Your Own reusable bags, buckets, and gloves to help lower the carbon footprint of our cleanups. We'll see you out there!

Check our Cleanup & Event Calendar for up to date information...

Site Captains lead the way to clean oceans:

The overall success of Annual Coastal Cleanup Day depends on the leadership of our Site Captains. Being a Site Captain is a rewarding way to be an environmental leader in our community with minimal commitment. You'll attend a brief information and training session in early September, and then arrive early on Coastal Cleanup Day to set up your cleanup site, sign-in your volunteers, and hand out cleanup materials. Whether you are a regular beach cleanup participant or this is your first time, participating in Coastal Cleanup Day is exciting and easy. Contact andrew@saveourshores.org.

What to expect as a volunteer:

Volunteers arrive at their site at 9am ready to get to work! Pre-registration is encouraged and saves you time, but is not mandatory. You can register at your cleanup with a Site Captain upon arrival. Pre-registration on either the Santa Cruz or Monterey County cleanup pages via the link above.

Please Note: For river cleanup sites, close-toed shoes, rubber boots, and heavy/garden gloves will help keep you clean and dry.

At the cleanup: your Site Captain will sign you in, distribute cleanup supplies, and provide a safety briefing. We are committed to reducing the environmental footprint of this event - please Bring Your Own reusable bags, buckets, gloves, and reusable water bottle. Find more BYO ideas from the Coastal Commission...

"It is estimated that it requires about 10,000 kilograms of oil, or about 67 barrels, in energy and raw material, to produce the amount of plastic bags used during the 2009 California Coastal Cleanup Day." -California Coastal Commission

SCUBA Divers: To register for a SCUBA cleanup at the Santa Cruz Wharf, please stay tuned for information in 2012.

Kayak Cleanups: To register for a kayak cleanup, please stay tuned for information in 2012.

For School Groups:

Annual Coastal Cleanup Day provides an opportunity for in-class education about marine conservation and a hands on activityfor your students to put their new knowledge to work! One thing we know for sure isthat kids care about the ocean and it's many critters.

There are 2 ways for School Groups to get involved:

1. Have us come out to conduct a Marine Conservation presentation in your classroom where students will learn the importance of healthy ecosystems and how they can get actively involved in their community toprevent plastic pollution.

2. Organize a campus, neighborhood or beach cleanup any time from September 6-15, or have your students participate at one of our many cleanup sites locations on Annual Coastal Cleanup Day, September 17th. Please note: Students will need a Cleanup Waiver Form signed by a legal guardian to participate. Download here. Contact lauren@saveourshores.org to discuss all of the above.

Cleanup Waiver Forms: All participants must sign a waiver form to participate in any of our cleanups. Volunteers under 18 participating without a legal guardian will need to bring a printed and signed waiver form with them. To speed up your check-in process, download English-waiver-form here, and download Spanish-waiver-form here (recommended for large groups).

Businesses as Ocean Stewards:

The natural beauty of the Monterey Bay area is the foundation of our community. It brings thousands of visitors to our coasts each year and inspires our unique culture and environmental awareness. Locals, visitors, and businesses all need to pitch in to protect our beautiful beaches, rivers and sloughs - that means YOU.
Become a Sponsor for the Summer of Clean Beaches!.

Annual Coastal Cleanup Day is the perfect opportunity to show the community that your business cares. Get involved: ask your employees to participate together at on of our many cleanup sites on this one day in history.

Sponsor Annual Coastal Cleanup Day: The success of this event depends on the support we receive from local governments and businesses. Sponsors receive logo recognition and thanks in our promotional materials, advertisements, and on our website. Contact emily@saveourshores.org to Sponsor Annual Coastal Cleanup Day. If you would like to provide in-kind sponsorship of some sort, please also be in touch.

Save Our Shores Presentations: Inspire your employees and increase your business' participation in this long-standing community tradition through our educational presentations to businesses and their employees prior to Annual Coastal Cleanup Day. These presentation provide valuable information on marine debris and the importance of participating in this international event. Presentations are fun and vary in length, content and activities to fit your needs.